Quaker Castle Tour part 1- the invisible ones first.

Some years ago I was told very firmly by my teenage daughter that I needed to travel more. Knowing all too well about my love of history, she talked of places she had visited, then said very fervantly, " Honestly Mum, you should go to Poland, or Germany! English Castles seem like just a pile of stones in comparison. You can go inside and walk round proper rooms because they look after their castles. It really does limit your perspective if you just stay in the places that you know."

These words of wisdom are much in my mind because they remind me of Quakers. Whilst I can write with some confidence about Meetings and Quaker events that I have been to in England and in particular my local Meeting, this is only a very limited perspective. It is evident that Quakerism varies considerably. Through the feedback I have already received from about the world it would seem some Quaker Meetings are more conscious of the need for preservation and look after their castles a great deal better than we do.

It might seem a little incongruous to imagine castles in countries such as Canada, Australia and America. To be truthful I am rather glad that they apparently have none because, as I have been reliably informed by various tourists over the years, a search for castles is a very good excuse for people to come and see you! We can learn a great deal from this type of interaction. Tourists of any sort are both a mirror and a window, providing so many opportunities for dialogue and from which we all may grow.

In the past English Quakers used to talk of those "travelling in the ministry." Perhaps they still do in some parts of the world although it would seem to me all Quakers should be able to travel and to whatever place and at whatever time, it should be in the ministry. There is so much to be wondered at and valued. Not all will speak to our condition so whilst it is good and reassuring to discover common ground, this does not always have to be called a castle.

To those readers who have never had the opportunity to visit an English Castle, please forgive me now for not writing beyond the things I know. As my daughter would say, it would do me good to travel although for the present I am glad for this opportunity to write, realise my limitations and know you are out there!

Even in this country, finding a castle can be quite hard. This problem was apparent when my daughter discovered that one of the streets close to her new home was called Castle Road. We were both quite curious, even a little excited so I did my research with a few old maps and photographs that evening. The result proved quite predictable for a new town. About a hundred years ago it may have been very helpful for passing travellers to break their journey at the Castle Public House, although this respite for any Seeker after Truth is not quite the same thing as discovering a Castle. This would seem very much like the search for a Quaker meeting. You cannot just rely on the name. 

Other types of castles may be identified in this country as a decorative paving stone besieged by modern traffic, or as a sign on the walls of some building, however new. There may be very carefully researched information about the importance of this castle, even the description of some act of notable loyalty, bravery or a hero named. This history is of interest although also somewhat less than it might be. At some point other considerations have got in the way. Just like with Quaker Meetings, you cannot live in the past, still call something a castle if now there is nothing there.

At times, even when you cannot see your castle very clearly, or the evidence for its existence seems patchy, you know that it is there. Our local castle is deep underground with no visible trace so you would have to dig deep to find it. It is particularly old, many of its stones were recycled to build the Abbey in the same way as Quakers may find themselves worshiping elsewhere. We may find ourselves governed by practical considerations, even of greater usefulness, in a different place of worship but this does not stop us being stones of a castle if we choose to maintain the association and just happen to have been there.

Our castle legacy includes stories of a very large Norman hall discovered intact at the turn of last century, its use as a Country Gaol and of so many prisoners of conscience, many of them Quaker who suffered and were detained there. Around the site there are still several old inns where children could purchase food to support the prisoners at that time. To find our castle you have to dig very deep into Quaker and local history although still possible to consider those prisoners part of our family, our ministry today and consider it an honour to go on providing them with food.

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